Dollhouse help cont'd and can you id a particular dollhouse

[kcampbell]

Ok I have been searching out the perfect dollhouse and have been following the previous thread about dollhouses. Anyone have some recommendations for a great wooden dollhouse. My DDs are ages 3 and 20 months. I am thinking primarily for my 3 year old but obviously the younger one will want to play as well. Is anyone familiar with this one from constructive playthings? http://www.constplay.com/family/default.htm

Also, we saw a great one the other day at a preshcool we were touring but I don't know who makes it. It was wooden had a slanted roof a few floors (maybe 3). The stairs were movable like sliding and it had a side garage with a little car. The garage looked liked Ryan's Room but the house did not. Anyhow I would love some advice. Thanks so much.

FYI it is the Deluxe Dream House with Furniture if the link just takes you to the homepage.

[o_mom]

The link you posted just goes to the front page there.

Is it this one?:
http://www.constplay.com/constplay.com/family/product_images/KRP-42L.jpg

If so, we have one that is very similar:
http://content.onestepahead.com/assets/images/product/detail/13812.jpg
http://www.leapsandbounds.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=534290

I paid $80 for mine at a resale shop. I like that it is big and open. It is very easy for them to move the furniture around and I can put it on the train table and they can get to all sides. It is not as sturdy as I like, mainly because it is so open. The contructive playthings one looks to be sturdier (square columns, wall on the back), but wouldn't be as open. Putting it on the train table helps because then they aren't pulling up on it, but at the same time it is higher up so DS2 can't reach the attic. The accessories are good, but there are a few small parts that I confiscated. A determined child can break things, but we have glued them back together with no problem (only broke at the joints, not the actual pieces).

For $80, I think it was a great deal. For $200, I might not be as happy, especially since I have boys and the use will be limited. The scale is the same as Ryan's Room, so if you want to add furniture it fits. Battat is the manufacturer, but they rarely advertise under that name so you have to look around.

[MMMommy]

The link doesn't work directly to the dollhouse at Constructive Playthings, but...

(1) Is it the Deluxe Dream House with Furniture? If so, another poster had mentioned that she has it and likes it a lot. The prior poster also said that was made by Battat.

(2) Is the one you saw at preschool possibly this one by Battat, which has a garage similar to the Ryan's Room one? There is a 15% off coupon code (NEXTBABY) that you can use for One Step Ahead.

http://tinyurl.com/34zasq

(3) Another option, very similar to the house at One Step Ahead is this one made by Parents/Battat (Battat makes the Parents brand stuff)--

http://tinyurl.com/2wqrmc

[kcampbell]

Yes-thanks for helping with the photo. That is the one that I was eyeing. I saw the one that you have in One Step Ahead (same thing as Leaps and Bounds). I was thinking the same thing for $200 I don't know. It does have the little car and garage which are too cute. It is not the one we saw at the preschool, theirs was definately more of a house shape with walls on the sides not as open. Thanks for your help.......

[o_mom]

I think the OSA one is actually a slightly better deal - it incudes the dolls ($24.99 at CP) and the garage and car. Just judging from the picture, each floor of the OSA one is taller (overall 4 in taller and 3 in deeper) which makes it easier for little ones to move furniture around. With the 15% off code the other poster gave, they would be the same price, too.

I think either will give you far more accessories for the money than buying the separate sets. You may want to price what all that furniture would cost and if you don't like the actual house, sell just the house and get a Ryan's Room or Plan Toys one later.

I need to get ours out again and see if I can make it slightly sturdier - I'm thinking that if I add washers between the posts and floors it would tighten up.

[MMMommy]

Just wanted to add that a prior poster bought the one from OSA recently using the 15% off code, and she noticed that she wasn't charged shipping on her confirmation email. I think she got the whole thing for $169 out the door from OSA. That's a great price. But it didn't sound like she expected to get free shipping when she ordered--just the 15% off. So you may or may not end up being "lucky" and get free shipping.

Also wanted to note that the OSA one is not a bad deal, ultimately. Dollhouse furniture sets and dolls can get pricey--$12-$15/room at the cheapest usually. PB Kids dollhouse furniture is way expensive at $29-$44/room. So it isn't a bad deal, especially with the garage and car too.

All are cute!

[kcampbell]

Ohhh that Parents one is nice too. Just a follow up for everyone, I also got really smart and just called the preschool to see if there is anyone who could i.d. the dollhouse for me. I figure that is much easier than trying to keep guessing and searching. They are supposed to call me back once school is out today with any information. I will be sure to add it if I can get an answer.

[MMMommy]

I'd be interested in finding out which one it is! So let us know. I LOVE looking at dollhouses. That is my "big" joint gift for my girls this year. I bought them this one--

http://tinyurl.com/ywafym

I'm furnishing it with a few Ryan's Room furniture sets, some Pottery Barn Kids dollhouse dolls bought individually ($5 each, $4 for the baby), and a Calico Critters Beagle family.

Can't wait to give it to them!

[kcampbell]

Bad news is they called me back and said there are absolutely no markings of any kind saying who makes it. She did say that they the teacher in that classroom said many many parents have asked the same question and she always recommends Sams Club and Costco at this time of year. I checked both of their websites and had no luck.

What made you decide on the one you chose, if you don't mind me asking. It is always helpful to hear what other people base their decisions on. Thanks for your help.

[MMMommy]

I'm sorry to hear about the school not providing any further info on the dollhouse. I thought of another one with a garage--but it isn't a separate garage. Could this possibly be it?

http://tinyurl.com/2qtppe

In terms of selecting the dollhouse, I was deciding between the European Classic (the one I bought) and the Ryan's Room "Home Is Where the Heart Is" dollhouse. I loved the look of the European Classic, but at the time knew nothing about it and couldn't find any opinions on it. Only one place sold it online, so I was hard pressed for info. I contacted the online store who gave me info on the manufacturer, and I felt comfortable with ordering it, sight unseen and without any user reviews. It is sold in Europe, and I was able to find it on German toy store sites and such. So I knew it was something pretty widely available in Europe, even though not widely available in the U.S. Ultimately, I picked it b/c of its look and size. I have two girls and wanted something substantial in size for them to both play with.

Now after seeing and reading about all the dollhouse options out there, I think I would have narrowed the final two down to the European Classic and the OSA one. The OSA one, at $169 shipped (again, not sure if that was just "lucky" for the prior poster who wasn't charged shipping AND got 15% off), is such a good deal, considering all it comes with. The OSA one would have been a major contender for its appearance and for all it comes with. But if you want to furnish your own house and choose your sets, the OSA one wouldn't be the best choice. Between the Parents/Battat one from Target and the OSA one, I personally would go with the OSA one for sure--due to price (coupon codes available) and no tax.

Good luck!

[o_mom]

Can you go back and get a picture? I'll bet someone here could identify it. :-)

[kcampbell]

I am very interested in the OSA one but not only does it look like you can do EITHER free shipping OR 15% off it has an additional oversized shipping charge. This is just reading the info on the site, I haven't actually tried to purchase it.
I am sure your girls will LOVE the one you picked out. It does look great. I worry it will end up so expensive once we get it furnished..........

[kcampbell]

Unfortunately not it still, but a very cute one to add to the list.

Some other features I remember from it
It was an A-frame sort of like the Home Is Where the heart is or the Plan Toys My First Dollhouse. With the one side being totally open for play, the stairs were on the open side and I am pretty sure they were movable. Sort of remember they were slide-able along the edge of the house. This house had a garage off to the side that looks exactly like the one attached to the OSA dollhouse, the door opened and shut just like it and a little car very similar to OSA was in the garage. It was on the right side of the house if you were looking at the house and on the left I seem to remember a patio type thing that was raised. It really seemed like a lot of different houses that we have all been looking at combined into one! It all went together. The dolls and furniture were too cute. I remember a shower "stall" complete with curtain. A cute little chair as well for the dolls. And they also had cushions for some of the furniture pieces and little fabric rugs. The house was very plain all wood no painted parts and the furniture simple with bright color accents for the shower curtain or rugs. It very well could have been a complete set no longer available or a house that then had all of the pieces added to it as well as the furniture. Sorry for the long rant I just can still see it in my mind but can't find it anywhere!

[MMMommy]

I'm on a quest to find out which dollhouse it could be. You already are familiar with the Ryan's Room Home Is Where the Heart Is house, so I assume it isn't that one. But here is a pic fully loaded, just in case (with garage, front facade, patio, etc.)--

http://tinyurl.com/26swun

And here is a pic of the Ryan's Room Home Again, Home Again house fully loaded. This one actually looks like it has a garage to it on the bottom floor. The add-on basement is shown with it and is purchased separately and has the garage component.

http://tinyurl.com/27wfhg

Could it be any of them? I'll brainstorm on this for a while...

[new_mommy25]

Hi, I think we might have the doll house you are describing. It sounds like it is sort of what you are looking for. Ours is made by Battat. The stairs are movable and it comes with a shower stall and curtain. It is exactly like the Const. Playthings doll house only ours comes with a patio and garage and car. I bought it off Craigslist for $50 but the seller told me she bought it at Costco about 5 years ago.

The OSA doll house is the new version made by Battat. I think it is very nice and would be a good choice. It's slightly cheaper at Target (Parents Magazine I think) but I don't know what accessories come with the Target house so you would have to see which one is the better deal.

Here are some pictures of our house. The patio is supposed to attach to the side of the house but we put it on top of the fire house on the left only because we were short on space :) .
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m157/rubymame/doll%20house/IMG_2567.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m157/rubymame/doll%20house/IMG_2568.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m157/rubymame/doll%20house/IMG_2569.jpg http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m157/rubymame/doll%20house/IMG_2570.jpg


HTH! Good luck with your search.

[MMMommy]

That one is so cute! It's too bad that Costco doesn't carry the Battat-made dollhouses lately. They seem to only carry the Kidkraft ones--giant, Barbie-sized ones only. I saw the Kidkraft Cecilia dollhouse today at Costco, and it seemed a bit wobbly and not very solid. The Battat look better made to me, but I haven't actually seen one in person. I like the aesthetics of the Battat ones a lot. I'm sure the one you have would have been a great one to get when they had them at Costco!

[kcampbell]

THAT IS IT! Wow, this board is amazing. Thanks so much for taking the time to post the pictures! I did a pretty good describing it like I remembered. Now just to find one like it. I checked our craigslist but only plasticy junk ones were listed. I also did an Ebay search for Battat wooden dollhouses. Are you happy with it? At least I hope that it is as cool as it seemed! Thank you again for taking time and posting the pics. I know everyone will be excited that we now know the name!

[new_mommy25]

I'm so glad I could help. Another cool thing about the house is that the windows on the second story actually slide open and closed.

I am very happy with the doll house. It is very sturdy. My DD is 18 months and on more than one occasion climbed up onto the second story and it has held her weight. The furniture is very cute. Unfortunetly beside Construction Playthings I think the only place you will find the house is Craigslist or Ebay.